1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a vacuum cleaner. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a vacuum cleaner for using in both an upright form and a canister form, which can use in an upright form or a canister form according to a shape or condition of a surface to be cleaned in cleaning.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an upright vacuum cleaner forcibly draws in dust or dirt along with air from the outside by a suction force generated within a cleaner body, so that it cleans a surface to be cleaned. Such an upright vacuum cleaner is provided with a suction nozzle assembly formed to be movable along the surface to be cleaned, and a cleaner body mounted on the suction nozzle assembly. In addition, in the cleaner body are formed a dust separating unit to collect the dust or dirt drawn in from the surface to be cleaned, and a motor chamber in which a suction motor is installed on a lower side of the dust separating unit. The upright vacuum cleaner as described above is usually used in cleaning a surface to be cleaned having a relatively wide cleaning area, such as a floor or a carpet, because the cleaner body is mounted on the suction nozzle assembly to move therewith.
However, if such an upright vacuum cleaner is used to clean a surface having a relatively narrow cleaning area, such as a stairway or the like, the cleaning work does not only becomes difficult, but also a cleaning efficiency is deteriorated, because a user has to frequently hold up and move both the heavy cleaner body and the suction nozzle assembly.
To address the problems as described above, there has recently been developed and used a vacuum cleaner for using in both an upright form and a canister form in which a cleaner body is detachably installed on a suction nozzle assembly to be able to select an upright form or a canister form according to a shape or condition of a surface to be cleaned in cleaning. The upright form is a form where the vacuum cleaner is used with the cleaner body mounted on the suction nozzle assembly and the canister form is a form where the vacuum cleaner is used with the cleaner body separated from the suction nozzle assembly and placed on the surface to be cleaned.
Such a vacuum cleaner for using in both the upright form and the canister form is generally stored in an upright position with the suction nozzle assembly on a floor. Accordingly, to stably support the cleaner body including the dust separating unit and the motor chamber, the suction nozzle assembly is formed to have a relatively large and wide size, particularly, a back and forth width. As a result, the conventional vacuum cleaner for using in both the upright form and the canister form does not present any problem when it is used in the upright form to clean the surface to be cleaned having the relatively wide cleaning area, such as the floor or the carpet. However, when the conventional vacuum cleaner is used in the canister form to clean the surface having the narrow back and forth width, such as the stairway or the like, it may present a problem in that a portion of the suction nozzle assembly is projected beyond the narrow back and forth width of the stairway to cause a bottom surface of the nozzle body not to come in complete contact with the stairway and thus to deteriorate a dust suction efficiency. In addition, because a single pivot connection part between a nozzle body of the suction nozzle assembly and a connection pipe, to which user's force and a weight of an extended tube coupled with the suction nozzle assembly are applied, is positioned out of the stairway along with the portion of the suction nozzle assembly projected beyond the back and forth width of the stairway, the user has to move the suction nozzle assembly while not freely pushing it to the stairway and thus the cleaning work comes difficult.